i live in zurich area and am lucky to have an indoor pool quite near my house. several times, though, i've had the same weird experience at the pool and am wondering what's up.
people don't seem to follow the sort of lane etiquette that i've experienced elsewhere. for instance: today i found ~6 people in the pool. it was therefore "full," because everyone was swimming back and forth in straight lines rather than in circles.
i know that with people divided up and following some rules, you can comfortably fit 3-4 in a lane and squeeze 6. i'm confused because the free-for-all approach seems inefficient and very un-swiss. i usually try to swim around people for a while and then just leave after 100 meters or so (today i only lasted 50!).
on the other hand, i'm very open to the likelihood that i'm misunderstanding something here (again!). so, swimmers: what am i doing wrong? are things done differently in switzerland? i have a bit of german but am anxious about speaking it in situations like this. . . how would you ask people politely to move over or swim in circles or share a lane?
I have never seen people swim in circles... swimming in lane back and forth is normal in any country I have been in.. unless you are not describing it properly and mean something else ?
I swim regularly in Zurich and haven't found a pool yet which doesn't operate the lane system. Are you sure you weren't swimming in the "free" area which isn't roped off and you can swim up and down, round and round or practise your synchronised swimming, if you so wish?
Most pools have 3 or 4 lanes roped off with a strict rule that you swim to the right, end to end, in an anti-clockwise direction.
it's definitely not the 'free' area. that's got a diving tank and a bunch of old ladies at the shallow end doing aqua fit. this was in the 'lap swim' section, which is ~4 lanes' worth, though not divided by lane ropes. and even when there are lane ropes in, i seem to often encounter people swimming 'straight lines' rather than 'circles.'
Sometimes if the lane is quiet you can get away with swimming straight end to end but normally if someone else joins you, the etiquette is to keep to the right.
The lane ropes definitely encourage this but if there are no ropes out and others are as blind as I am without my glasses, then you just have to aim from end to end and try not to hit anyone in the process.
I think the OP means in a circular way even within the one lane.
So instead of just going up and down, you go up and when you reach the wall you go a little bit to the left and then you're on your way again. That way you can have more than one person per lane.
I found the whole pool etiquette thing puzzling at first.
But here is what I decided - it's human nature to prefer your own lane and just swim up and down as opposed to be with someone else and be swimming behind them and to judge the right moment to pass them or shorten your length so that you can set off ahead of them. Sooo - in view of this, when the pool is not busy, people just get into a lane and swim..... up and down. And just like the famous bags on seats on the train, they do this with their eyes cast down hoping that any new arrival will not choose their lane to get into. But they do get in and then there are 2 people in the lane so it is still feasible to each swim up and down keeping to your own side. And the cycle repeats itself - the 2 swimmers carry on eyes down, hoping no one else will choose their lane .. But be brave! Dive on in. Just as on the trains, people will be slow to move over to the circular pattern, but they will do eventually ..probably...usually. I even asked the lifesaver team and the reply was "obviously. Everyone swims in circular lanes" when it's clearly not true! You and I are perhaps used to even one swimmer all alone doing circular lengths but this only seems to happen when enough people warrant it.
I agree it initially strikes you as rather "un Swiss" but if you compare it to the bags on seat issue, it is actually something which seems to be deeply engrained in the pysche!
PS in Baselland where I swam regularly it was pretty de rigeur to blast out a cheery "Gruezi" as you passed your fellow lane occupants for the first time - try this out for size,
The pool I go to is generally pretty good about the keep-to-the-right etiquette, but I still get caught out by the people that flatly refuse to pause at the end of a length to let obviously faster swimmers pass by (I'm far from being the fastest in the sports lane, but am not the slowest either). This was always standard behaviour at the pools I went to in the UK but doesn't seem to be the norm here. This is often resolved by a bit of aggressive overtaking with some extra effort put into making as much splash and wake as possible, if possible cutting them up as they're about to start another length and suddenly find a 2m long whale flapping away like crazy a few cm in front of their inconsiderate noses
As the pool in which I now swim is usually pretty empty at the time I go, I, too, swim straight up and down. I used to swim in a lane at another pool but disliked people 'waiting at the end of the pool'. I never knew what they were going to do between my putting my head down to turn and my feet hitting the wall. Often they would push off just as I turned or move across in front of me and get kicked.
Most of the 'swimmers' in the lane 'turned' as shown in the pictures but really one should look behind ca. 5 metres from the wall, if not being overtaken swim diagonally across to, or just beyond the centre of the wall, turn against the wall and push off straight.
No need to be aggressive (try it on me and see how far you get ). If people are swimming more slowly than me, I simply overtake at some point. I get overtaken by people who swim faster than me. It seems to work, no-one gets upset. No-one demands that anyone wait for anyone.
If I get in a lane where someone is going back and forth, I start using the anticlockwise route. They get the hint quite quickly. Of course, since I'm quite big, that may influence their decision to get out of my way. You can always ask the staff what the rules are, and they may even enforce them.
I don't like aggressive swimmers who just "own" the lane but, on the other side, my eyesight is shite without my specs and I wear one earplug (daren't wear two), plus my swimming hat is over both ears effectively blocking most sound so I'm basically swimming like a Jedi so appreciate it if someone is clear and not just dropping subtle hints.
I usually find other swimmers are pretty friendly and often chat if you stop at the end when they are taking a breather. I normally take this opportunity to slip in that I'm "flying by wire" so apologies if I get in your way.
I don't get the whole swimming up and down thing at all. I prefer to swim diagonally, or in zigzags, or across the pool. The just laze around in the corner sipping my beer, or perhaps float around on an inflatable for a while, reading my kindle (in waterproof case). I can't stand lots of people interrupting me by wanting to swim past in straight lines
Of course, I don't normally use public pools. I guess it shows, doesn't it?
no pissing, no petting, no jumping, no busking, no diving, no splashing, take a shower before and after, keep your jewels tucked in, don't stare at others, no eating, make sure you've waxed and you're buffed, no animals etc etc